Lamp



I Aug. 25, 1959 J. L. BELL ET L LAMP Filed Nov. 1, 1956 INVENTORS Jose h 2;. EEZZ Rickard Meizzkc United States Patent LAlVH Joseph L. Bell, Chicago, and Richard Meinke, Riverside, 111., assignors to Sears, Roebuck and Co., Chicago, 111., a corporation of New York Application November 1, 1956, Serial No. 619,868 2 Claims. (Cl. 24081) Our invention relates to lamps of the table or floor type and has to do more particularly with a new and improved combination of an electrical light source with means for transmitting the light therefrom into a room so as to provide maximum illumination with a minimum of glare.

More particularly we have devised a simple, inexpensive and effective arrangement of a lamp and a shade of more or less orthodox frusto-conical or generally cylindrical shape, such as is commonly found in home illuminating devices, together with means above and below the light source for transmitting glareless or diffused light, all of such elements being supported on a more or less orthodox lamp standard of table or floor type.

Our invention will be best understood by reference to the drawings attached hereto and illustrating a preferred embodiment of said invention, wherein Fig. 1 is a vertical sectional view of a lamp embodying my invention, the lamp and support therefor being shown in elevation and fragmentarily, and

Fig. 2 is a horizontal plan section taken substantially along the line 22 of Fig. 1.

The numeral represents a lamp standard or support, which may be of more or less conventional type, being the upper portion of either a table or floor lamp such as is commonly employed in household illumination. Said standard 10 carries at its upper extremity a lamp socket 12 in which is seated an electrical bulb 15.

The standard 10, which may be of tubular form, is provided with a shoulder 17 on which is secured as by welding, brazing or the like, a dished disk 20. This disk is provided with a plurality of holes 22 for thumb screws 23 whereby is secured a circular diffusing member 25. The difiuser 25 may be formed of any suitable rigid material, but for convenience we employ a translucent synthetic plastic material which may be milky white or of any other desired color, or of transparent material and provided with surface corrugations or deformations of prismatic or other suitable formation for diffusing the light which is transmitted downwardly therethrough from the bulb 15.

The peripheral portion of the diffuser 25 is upturned to provide a shoulder or ledge 27 for supporting a tubular shade 30. The shade comprises a generally cylindrical or frusto-conical section 32 of any suitable sheet material such as so-called imitation parchment, synthetic plastic or any other self-supporting sheet material. The tubular section 32 permits a diffused glow to be transmitted laterally from the bulb and is provided at the lower portion thereof with suitable means for supporting the shade on the diffuser 25. Said supporting means may conveniently comprise a pair of radially spaced wire rings 35a and 35b, said rings being connected together by means of a plurality of circumferentially spaced members 36. Said connecting members may conveniently be of inverted J-formation wire elements whereby the tubular member 32 depends below the outer rim of the diffuser 25.

The upper portion of the shade 30 is provided with a Patented Aug. 25, 1959 pair of radially spaced wire rings 40a and 40b, said rings being connected together by means of a plurality of circumferentially spaced wire or the like members 42. Supported on the ring 40b is a light diffusing disk having a downwardly bent peripheral flange 47 which is provided with a plurality of circumferentially spaced notches 49 for receiving the connecting members 42. The diffuser 45, which may be of any suitable type, is preferably formed of so-called expanded metal which, as best seen in Fig. 1, is provided with a plurality of perforations. Such a member is highly desirable not only for the reason that it permits a diifused glow from bulb 15 to pass upwardly to the ceiling and thence be reflected down into the room, but also for the reason that said metal will permit the passage of hot air from the bulb to pass therethrough and thus obviate the accumulation of overheated air within the space around the bulb, with possible discoloration or heat or fire damage to tubular member 32. Being of metal, elevation of the temperature of diffuser 45 is of no importance, whereas, if this member were formed of certain plastic materials it might be softened or otherwise damaged by the heat from bulb 15.

It will also be noted that an annular space is provided between diffusers 45 and 25 and tubular member 32.

Various changes coming within the spirit of our invention may suggest themselves to those skilled in the art. Hence, we do not wish to be limited to the specific embodiments shown and described or uses mentioned, but intend the same to be merely exemplary, the scope of our invention being limited only by the appended claims.

We claim:

1. An electric lamp comprising a vertical standard terminating in an electrical socket at the upper end thereof, a supporting member for a lamp shade assembly aflixed to the upper part of said standard below said socket, said lamp shade assembly including a light-transmitting plate with a central opening larger than said socket but smaller than said supporting member with means for detachably mounting said plate onto said supporting member, a tubular lamp shade of translucent sheet material having reinforcing rims at the top and bottom edges thereof, supporting means affixed to the bottom rim having a small inward displacement for support by the outer periphery of said plate, supporting means afiixed to the upper rim extending inwardly of said tubular shade, and a light diffuser of open-mesh material supported by said last-mentioned supporting means, said open-mesh material of said light diffuser and the passages between the tubular lamp shade and said light diffuser and light transmitting plate resulting in adequate ventilating efiects consonant with optimum light-diffusing effects.

2. An electric lamp as set forth in claim 1 wherein said light-transmitting plate is formed of translucent plastic sheet material and said light diffuser is formed of metal provided with openings therein to dilfuse the light and provide ventilation for the space within said lamp shade.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,437,259 Mohr Nov. 28, 1922 1,452,575 Taylor Apr. 24, 1923 1,475,071 Laird Nov. 20, 1923 1,487,758 Rabideau Mar. 25, 1924 1,974,077 Lynch Sept. 18, 1934 2,014,872 Wells et al. Sept. 17, 1935 2,121,575 Shoemaker June 21, 1938 2,307,574 Cunningham Jan. 5, 1943 2,308,071 Foss et al. Jan. 12, 1943 2,576,523 Lam Nov. 27, 1951 2,748,257 Bennett May 29, 1956 

